1/48 Sopwith Triplane with a decal disaster

 I am enjoying building these kits to buzz above the wargames table.. I am also enjoying re-creating the sort of straightforward paint job that I would have aspired to when I built Airfix kits as a kid. There is a pleasing simplicity about the end result. This was a very satisfying build from an Eduard kit dating from the mid-1990s but the decals were horribly brittle and I lost the Sopwith labelling for the tail plane as well as the blue, white and red zig-zag  markings that went around the fuselage. The tail rudder decals broke into a few pieces along with one of the fuselage roundels and all had to be overpainted by hand. I think I managed to save the build! One more kit to build before the little metal men return to the table...a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter. There will be another four kits from Steve's clear-out to keep until the next time I feel the urge to build.

1/48 Pfalz D. XII

 The mojo for painting little metal men is still on long term leave but I hope to return to them shortly. Steve's surplus kits continue to provide useful distractions, an outlet for building things and painting big blocks of colour. This 1/48 Pfalz D. XII is a Blue Max kit. I bought some lozenge decals for the wings as these were not provided with the kit. A remarkably colourful aeroplane when complete. The photos are taken on the workbench rather than in the lightbox as it is not currently set up. 

1/48 Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 "Harry Tate".

As a consequence of my friend Steve's clear-out a few weeks ago, I was very pleased to come into the possession of an Aeroclub 1/48 kit of a RE.8. An out of production kit dating from the 1990s. I have been on the lookout for one of these for quite a few years but when they cropped up in eBay or on websites dealing with "vintage" and out of production kits they were selling for silly money. Too pricey for what I wanted to do with it - create a gaming piece that would buzz above the wargaming table. During all that time, Steve had one in his "black hole". This beauty, equipped with a radio transmitter, will circle the table spotting the fall of shot from 96 Heavy Artillery Group. Time to get hold of some pilots from Copplestone Castings.

WW1 Leyland 3-ton Lorries, a big gun and a Hannover CL IIIa

 The mojo for painting little metal men has taken long term leave but over the past month the time at the table has been dedicated to "equipments". Earlier in the summer I obtained these two 1/56 scale 3D resin printed models of WW1 Leyland 3-ton lorries from David Freemantle in Australia. Splendid stuff. I also assembled and painted up a 5 inch gun on an obsolete 40pdr gun carriage from Actual Size Miniatures. The dial sight came from my bits-box. I was pleased to get this model as this gun was used in Mesopotamia. There is a photograph of such a gun mounted in the bows of a river lighter that has been converted into an improvised powered gunboat. I will now be able to think about building the powered lighter. My friend Steve, in a moment of madness, had a clear-out and as a consequence of his episode a number of 1/48 aircraft kits are now sitting in in my "to build" pile. Here is the first, a Hannover Cl IIIa. This kit caused much swearing and getting the top wing fixed in place was a nightmare. Even now it is not central! There comes a time to cut your losses, say "bugger it" and crack on.

 

Achtung! Flugzeug!

I don't show enough photographs of the 1/48 scale model aeroplanes that I have built and painted over the past three or so years. I am not a skilled model maker. I am still a kid inside when it comes to building these kits. I want them built and finished speedily. If I could get away with hanging them from the bedroom ceiling I would! I content myself with seeing them fly above the wargames table. I don't have an air brush or any of that fancy sort of technology so painting is done with brushes and acrylic paints. So, here is a Phonix DII (Special Hobby kit), a Roland CII (Eduard Weekender kit) and a monster Gotha GV (a vintage Aurora kit from the 1960s and 70s).

The Big Push.

One of the benefits of teaching is a long summer break. This summer will be devoted to getting together units for the next display game at Newbury this September. The Light Car Patrol is now complete. A second Rolls Royce Armoured Car is finished. Two scratch-built 3-ton trucks are done. Attention now turns towards figure painting. The first completed element is this Ottoman machine gun set up for anti-aircraft work. French Spahis and Legion d'Orient wait their turn as do some more Turks and Tommies. No rest! Oh... nearly forgot... the early part of the summer was spent building aeroplanes. Here is a Rumpler C1. An Albatros DII, a Phalz Eindecker, a Bristol Fighter and a Bristol Scout all need to be photographed. This won't happen until I buy a new camera. Sadly, the old Minolta has given up the ghost and I had to borrow Mrs H's camera to photgraph this lot.

Biting the Bullet

Santa brought me some interesting gifts last Christmas. He gave me a 1/48 kit of a Bristol M1 C. It came up rather well for use on the Mespot tabletop.

Sadly, the 1/48 kit of a Vickers FB5 "Gunbus" ended up in the bin last night as I screamed, shouted and ranted my frustrations at it. It was a pathetic scene as I had a tantrum and hurled the box across the room. I am an adult (so I am told) and should know better.